Squad car hits van in Zion, kills man

A Zion police officer responding to an emergency call Sunday evening apparently drove through a red light before hitting another vehicle, killing a 19-year-old Wisconsin man, authorities said Monday.

Zion Police Chief Doug Malcolm said the squad car's red lights were flashing and its siren was on when it collided with a blue mini-van at 29th Street and Sheridan Road.

A passenger in the van, Scott Hamm, whose last known address was in Silver Lake, Wis., was airlifted to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he was pronounced dead Sunday, police said.

Police on Monday were also investigating the death of a Zion man found shot in his car in the 1200 block of 33rd Street.

At first police said they thought Richard J. Zoephel, 34, of the 3000 block of Elim Street, had died after losing control of his car.

But after Zoephel's body was taken to the Lake County medical examiner's office, officials found he had been shot before the car crashed, Malcolm said.

"At this point it became a homicide investigation," he said. "At 3 a.m. we called in the Lake County Major Crimes Taskforce, and they have been working on the investigation ever since."

In the accident involving the squad car, the driver of the van, Norman Roberts, 67, of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., was taken to St. Therese Medical Center in Waukegan, where officials said Monday he was in good condition.

A second passenger, Mark Wenzel, 19, of Wilmot, Wis., was treated and released Sunday night.

The officer, whom police declined to identify, was taken to Victory Memorial Hospital in Waukegan, where he was treated for minor injuries, including slight cuts and a sprained ankle, and released.

Malcolm said the officer was answering a call about a fight in progress when the accident happened. The squad car was heading south on Sheridan, the van east on 29th.